Rachel Roy Tells Us Her Most Embarrassing Fashion Week Moment

TodayRachel Roy showed a fall collection full of chunky knits, rich earth and jewel tones, and killer accessories. We were able to chat with the designer at the packed presentation, and she filled us in on the surprising inspiration and her most embarrassing runway moment.

What inspired you this season?

She is this woman that I’m kind of always inspired to want to be, but this season I took inspiration from very creative women. Some of the landscape architects actually, that take natural elements like soil and moss and stone — and some of the elements I used in the platforms — and they put them into urban settings to create new space. They are such amazing, creative women, and I discovered them in a documentary called Women in the Dirt. All of the colors come from natural elements, the lines are very clean. These women take natural, soft elements, and they use them in very clean, strong ways.

That’s so cool! Do you have a favorite park?

I grew up in northern California, and we would do all these hippie treks with my parents who were hippies to Yosemite. I have a lot of good memories there. Kind of overwhlemingly beautiful and yet powerful, nature is. I really like the combination of beauty and power.

What’s your most embarrassing Fashion Week story?

I had just given birth, and was probably still breastfeeding, and was just feeling quite overwhelmed. I was showing at Barry Diller’s space off of the Westside Highway. He has this amazing area for his staff where you can go and relax or have a massage or eat, and so I just locked myself in one of these closets. I was thoroughly exhausted and overwhelmed. I gave myself a moment and called my best friend, and she told me to come downstairs because she’s an editor. She gave me a hug, and I went on with my business.

We’re checking out your fall collection today, but what are your spring must-haves?

I’m the kind of person that I literally thinks about it as I’m going! But colors that I’m very interested in for spring are salmons. Similar to the Emma Stone Calvin moment — I love that color, and I love that with a heather gray. I love that also with an animal print, maybe both an animal print and a heather gray. I have pants in kind of the same [loose, straight-leg] silhouette I have now, but in a salmon. And also stripes. I’m a big lover of stripes.